Football in Iceland

Football in Iceland
Football in Iceland
Country	Iceland
Governing body	Football Association of Iceland
National team(s)	men's national team; women's national team
National competitions
	Icelandic Men's Cup; Icelandic Women's Cup
Club competitions
	Úrvalsdeild karla; Úrvalsdeild kvenna;
International competitions
	Men's Champions League; Women's Champions League; Europa League; Super Cup; FIFA Club World Cup; FIFA World Cup (Men's National Team); Men's European Championship (Men's National Team); UEFA Nations League (Men's National Team); FIFA Women's World Cup (Women's National Team); Women's European Championship

Football is the most popular sport in Iceland.^[1]^[2]^[3] Iceland hosted the U-18 European Championship in 1997, but an Icelandic national team has qualified for the final competition of a major tournament only five times—three times by the women's national team at UEFA Women's Euro in 2009, 2013 and 2017, and twice by the men's team at UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The only Iceland teams to advance past the group stage at a major tournament were the women in 2013 and the men in 2016.

Iceland's most famous football player is Eiður Guðjohnsen.^[4]^[5]^[6] He has won two Premier League titles with Chelsea F.C. as well as La Liga, Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League title for FC Barcelona.^[7]

There are 20,000 players (men and women) registered at clubs.^[1]^[8]^[9]

^ ^a ^b "Vísir - Er fótbolti fyrir alla?". Visir.is. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
^ Marcus Christenson (11 November 2013). "How Lars Lagerback took Iceland to the brink of the World Cup finals". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
^ Jack Bell (31 July 2012). "Iceland Makes Its Mark on European Soccer". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
^ World Cup (13 November 2013). "Eidur Gudjohnsen ready to take final step to World Cup with Iceland". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
^ Nunns, Hector (1 January 1970). "World Cup play-offs: How Iceland can set World Cup record". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
^ Jacob Steinberg. "Iceland's Eidur Gudjohnsen aims for a fairytale finish by beating Croatia". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
^ Jack Pitt-Brooke (14 October 2013). "Eidur Gudjohnsen lifts Iceland 'golden boys' to the brink of World Cup play-offs". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
^ "Iceland stars set up academy –". Uefa.com. 7 October 2003. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
^ "Scotland should look to Iceland as inspiration to arrest talent freeze". STV Sport. 23 March 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.

[visir1-1] "Vísir - Er fótbolti fyrir alla?". Visir.is. Retrieved 15 November 2013.

[2] Marcus Christenson (11 November 2013). "How Lars Lagerback took Iceland to the brink of the World Cup finals". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 November 2013.

[3] Jack Bell (31 July 2012). "Iceland Makes Its Mark on European Soccer". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 November 2013.

[4] World Cup (13 November 2013). "Eidur Gudjohnsen ready to take final step to World Cup with Iceland". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 6 January 2014.

[5] Nunns, Hector (1 January 1970). "World Cup play-offs: How Iceland can set World Cup record". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 November 2013.

[6] Jacob Steinberg. "Iceland's Eidur Gudjohnsen aims for a fairytale finish by beating Croatia". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 November 2013.

[7] Jack Pitt-Brooke (14 October 2013). "Eidur Gudjohnsen lifts Iceland 'golden boys' to the brink of World Cup play-offs". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 November 2013.

[8] "Iceland stars set up academy –". Uefa.com. 7 October 2003. Retrieved 15 November 2013.

[9] "Scotland should look to Iceland as inspiration to arrest talent freeze". STV Sport. 23 March 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.

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